Devin sat in his office with a massive file full of reports left after the accident that had happened earlier today. Outside was night, but through his artificial window, a day daylight shone as if it were a different time of the day in his own office.
The first report he had was from Elite Guard Ageuro. “I should’ve sent more people to observe a mysterious and dangerous individual like her…” Reaching the end of Aguero’s report, he got curious when the guard switched from referring to Navia as a person to calling her a monster. “If it were a report from any normal guard, I would call them crazy… But from Aguero. I know he only speaks the truth…”
Suddenly, someone began to knock on the door. “Come in.” Answered Devin, and shortly after, the door opened with Abigail standing in the doorway. She gently closed the doors behind and announced, “The Order of Tomorrow responded to our letter.”
Devin was gladly surprised to hear the answer come so soon. “Good thing their posts are all around the world.” Opening the sealed envelope, he silently read the contents. “I knew something was wrong about her.” Devin threw the letter onto the desk, and it slid closer to Abigail for her to read it.
Squad vice captain Navia Silckthron is listed dead after the fall of Brimwon. The body has not been found, but there are many signs regarding her unfortunate death.
“If that letter tells the truth, then…” Abigail tried to put those pieces together, but Devin had them already connected.
“Then the woman we met is an impostor. No one can come back from the dead. After reading Aguero’s report, I might even dare to say her body had been turned into a monster. That would make sense of dark blood and odd behavior. Without much proof to show, they might call us crazy…” Devin trailed off as he considered the next right steps. “Abigail!”
The woman jumped in place at the sudden outburst from the president. “Yes?!” She panickedly answered.
“Write a letter to the Order of Tomorrow that somebody is posing as their dead vice captain. Also, write her appearance and the gates she possesses from those reports. The Order won’t question the letter if we put it that way.” Devin gave Abigail the files from Aguero and a few guards who had seen Navia.
“Right away.” Gladly said Abigail as she took the report and, in a rush, left the office to write the requested letter.
Devin looked forward at the door for no reason; he was thinking and waiting for the sound of footsteps to vanish. He then looked at the other two documents. In the last few days, the Golden Zone entered the other side a few times and gathered new information. “There were five barons, according to the many testimonies… Belver Markiz was one of them, and he was killed by her. There is no confirmed rumor about the second death of a baron. If there truly were five of them at the beginning, that leaves three more.” Lifting the documents, he took out a paper with personal information and a description of Minerva Almaker. “And I know the name of the third member.”
Even though Navia brought only misfortune to the city, Devin couldn’t forget her words to fight the barons of Red Zone and unite the city. “I am the president of Liberin City… Not the Golden Zone alone…” He turned his chair toward the map of the city, where a clear wall was made between the two zones. “If I want to help those poor people on the other side, I must get rid of those rats first.” With a red marker, Devin crossed the whole wall. “And then the whole city can be united.”
Devin reached under his desk for a button as he clicked it, it made a silent buzzing sound. After a minute, a clerk knocked on the door. “Mister President. You called me?”
“Yes. Sent letters to the whole council. Tomorrow we’ll begin an important meeting. I need everyone. The topic of the conference will be the ‘Steps toward Red Zone’. Attendance is mandatory.”
***
The day after a tragic incident at the Markiz mansion couldn’t be more beautiful. Barely any clouds in the sky as dark blue water was visible in each direction from the port, as well as the light blue sky above it. The wind was gentle, cooling everyone who was standing in the sun just right. At the port of the Golden Zone, people gathered in line to enter a cruise ship, heading toward Beronian’s land.
The cruise ship was made for three hundred people plus the crew to set sail. Fifty of those people were of a higher class, as they had money to buy themselves special lodging. It was quite easy to spot who had which ticket, as there was a separate line for those special guests.
A woman in a beige long dress and a hat of the same color stood out the most in that line. The hat was able to cover most of her face, but everyone who could see even a bit of her face could describe her as beautiful. Like the Beronian aristocracy, she wore light makeup. Red lipstick and white powder to make her face look pale, except she didn’t have to use much of it as her skin was near the white color wanted by all the Berionian ladies.
“A goddess…” Whispered a passing man as he couldn’t stop staring at the lady until his wife reminded him with a slap in the face, beginning a fierce argument. One-sided, but a loud one to get the attention of most people at the docks.
The woman in beige took a glance at the arguing couple. She looked back at the ship as the line began to move forward. She grabbed a handle and pushed a wheelchair forward. The woman sitting on it was sleeping, covered by a white blanket.
When it was their time to hand the tickets, the woman in beige took out two tickets and whispered, “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to inform you about my poor daughter. She is very ill and might spout nonsense from time to time. Better approach her with caution and a light hand if she walks away from me.”
“Oh… I’ll inform the rest of the crew about this.” The man took a look at the tickets and from his pocket took out a room key number fifteen. “Here is a key to your room. If your daughter has problems, we can always send food directly to your room. There is a table to dine inside.”
“Good. We might take you on that offer.” The lady answered as she took the key and pushed the wheelchair onto the ship.
The person in the wheelchair opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings, noticing that she was moving even though she was not walking. As she was about to burst forward, the woman grabbed her forehead with one finger, and it was enough to stop her.
“Calm down. You don’t want to make any more trouble while in Liberin City. After your little show, you became quite popular.” Whispered the woman as she calmly talked to Navia.
“Wait… You’re the voice…” Whispered still weakened Navia. She had the strength to try and jump out of the wheelchair, but now that she is fully awake, her whole body was aching, regenerating after overusing the gate.
“I am more than a mere voice… I told you to at least call me an observer. Maybe one day you will learn my name. For now, you need to stay low and head to the Monastery. Since your gates don’t work properly, they might be able to do something about them. While I’d like to do it myself, I have to stay low for some time. The stunt I had to pull to save you cost me unwanted exposure.” A pinch of anger could be felt in the observer’s tone, but Navia felt it deeper, like a radiating energy only she could feel. A connection of some sort.
“So that’s how I ended up on the ship… I can’t quite remember what happened…” As Navia tried to think about the earlier day, it only brought pain as if needles were poking inside her head.
“You killed Markiz, the boy who came with you was against it, so you two ended up fighting. You got exhausted after the previous encounters, and I had to step in to save you. You don’t need to worry about that man. He is alive, I only used something to occupy him, not kill him.” The lady explained, but she left out many important details, especially information about Mirabell. “For now, focus on moving forward, and you will eventually recollect your memories.”
Once they reached room number fifteen, the lady pushed Navia inside and closed the doors behind. With a snap of her fingers, everything went silent, and her appearance as a mysterious woman in a dark veil came back. “No one will be able to hear us.”
“So, where is this ship heading?” Asked Navia as she tried to stand up from the wheelchair chair but her legs couldn’t stop shaking. Forcing her to sit back in the wheelchair.
“Einburg, where you can find a ship to the Monastery. They should be able to help with your broken gates, your inner world. Probably your head, too.” The woman in a veil answered as she poked Navia in the forehead.
“There is another place where they can help me, the order-” Navia wanted to come back home, to show that she is alive. To her, it was the best option, but the observer cut in.
“Don’t be foolish. The order knows barely a fraction of what the Monastery has in their basic books. You want to heal your inner world? Then go to the masters, where almost everyone on the island has at least one gate open.” The lady scolded Navia, as if lecturing a child on how to do things properly.
Navia didn’t answer as she thought deeper about it, but at the back of her mind, something was calling her back home. There were many reasons, and helping with rebuilding her inner world was just a small reason to her.
“Now that we have some time to talk, I will explain some things to you. So listen well, as I might not be able to repeat them in a while.” The lady sat on a chair and placed her elbows on the table, using her crossed hands as a platform for her head. “Do you know why the Gods decided to drown the world?” She curiously asked, trying to gouge out Navia’s knowledge.
“I heard many scenarios. Gods wanting to change the world, divine wrath for our sins… Then there was this… Madman back at the Brimwon… He said something about Hanis, God of Humans, murdering the God of Death, Karos… Since we are his creation as a punishment, we have to suffer and die…” As Navia explained the play she witnessed, there was an itch that she couldn’t scratch, a past that she wished to go differently.
“Part of it is true. I can’t explain what really happened yet, but I will say that even if that didn’t occur, the gods would still try to kill humans. Humankind was made in the image of God, like many religions say. Thus, they have the potential to be like gods, and that’s caused them to fear mankind. Because humans can reach the gods and kill them.” If someone said those words on the street, they would call that person mad. She was firm and confident in her words, that Navia was quick to believe those words.
“Humans can kill gods? Is that true?” Navia had to ask; she had to make sure. Back at the order, there was a captain who hated the gods and thought that the only way to protect the people is to get rid of the problem, to kill the gods. “Could his dream really happen?” She thought.
“Yes. Humans are capable of bringing gods down. One race was close to achieving that, the legendary warriors, Ignakins. In the past, they fought many battles against God's creations and won. One of the Gods decided to get rid of them by himself. It took twenty-five warriors to kill him, but they achieved something that people called impossible. They killed a god.” Navia’s heart began to race. It was as if the massive part of the world she knew drastically changed, and some of it was revealed.
“There was a race of warriors capable of defeating gods…” Navia whispered, imagining how powerful those people were. Even if twenty-five of them died in a battle, in the end, they were able to kill the god.
“That wasn’t the only race capable of doing that. Umbrakins, the people of night, and Portakins, the true gate users, were among those races. There were also individuals of other races who could face those gods. One even became a legend. Wukong.” Added the lady, furthering Navia’s knowledge and truth about the world she lived in.
“Wukong was a human? I thought he was a demigod…” The legend told by people was that Wukong was Hanis’ son who decided to rebel against the whole pantheon.
“He was a human, a leader of the army facing those gods. See… A human became so strong that people began to call him a demigod. That is proof of human strength.” The observer pointed. “The war from the past continues, and the gods try to stay out of the direct fights out of fear. That’s why there are waves of monsters called Tide Beasts. You already fought two humans who decided to join the gods to earn their favor. Those are called Drowned, getting God's favor, let them refine their gates. Drowned in their favor and blessings, they abandoned humankind.”
The lady brought up her hand and showed each finger separately. “There are also Drowned who received the most blessings, becoming God’s Finger. Each God has only enough power to choose one person and bless them. Their strength is the closest thing to demigods; you could compare them to the legendary Wukong.”
“You mean there are people like that currently walking on earth? I haven’t seen a single person like that… Didn’t even hear of a human killing people in the god’s name…” While Navia mostly believed the lady, there was a doubt since she didn’t witness anything like that. “If they are as strong as gods and do their bidding, why didn’t they destroy the cities? Instead, send Tide Beasts to do that.”
“Because there are strongholds capable of defending against them. Liberin, for example. It would fall if all the monsters of the world and God’s Fingers attacked, but it could deliver so much damage to the Gods' forces that it would take some time for them to recover, while humans all over the world would repopulate once again and rebuild the strongholds, building new ones. They are trying to weaken those strongholds over time and land a decisive strike. Brimwon is an example.” Explained the lady, leaning back against the chair as sitting in the same position became uncomfortable. She knew that it was going to be a long conversation.
“So the longer we fight, the less chance of winning we have…” Navia realized the truth of the war she wasn’t exactly aware of. Adding another concern she had to worry about.
“Yes… The fall of humanity would be inevitable, but I am here to change that. With the power I got, I am creating individuals to face those odds. Over the years, I was only able to resurrect successfully three people. You and Godan are Stranded, people brought back from the dead to be Stranded in the world of the living. Thanks to that resurrection, both of you became stronger with a place to grow stronger. There are some complications like your current state of the world or Godan’s incapability to find and open gates.” When the lady talked about Godan, it sounded like she despised him, her failed project.
“There is a third person like us?” Navia got curious, hearing that there are more people like her and Godan.
“Was… The state he got resurrected wasn’t… He didn’t live long.” The lady changed the way she was going to explain the first Stranded. Something happened to that person, and she didn’t want to share it because she felt ashamed of that failure. “I’m raising the army of humans capable of facing the Gods, and you, Navia, have the potential to slay Gods.” Said the lady as she pointed a finger at Navia with a smile on her face, glad that things turned out in the end.
Navia didn’t answer at all; she had to digest all the things she learned during the conversation. She didn’t know how to feel about it, but the longer she thought, the more her view changed. She didn’t fully trust the lady in veil, but it seemed like they shared the same enemy, and Navia did vow to protect humanity when she joined the order. Witnessing the death of many people by the hands of the Tide Beasts, she came to hate the gods.
“Fine. I will become the God Killer to save humankind and take my revenge.” Stated Navia as she looked directly at the lady in the eyes, barely seeing them through the veil, but she knew the woman was looking at her. The lady’s smile widened at the statement; it was something she wanted to hear.